TIGTA 2023 Inspection Plan

One of the roles of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is to perform inspections and evaluations to help improve the IRS and TIGTA’s own programs. Recently, the oversight group published its “2023 Inspections and Evaluations Program Plan” to outline fiscal year 2023 priorities. One review (focusing on TIGTA’s expert witness program) is […]

Cigarette Taxes and Cigarette Smuggling by State

Cigarette Taxes and Cigarette Smuggling by State, 2020 https://bit.ly/3FcJZjR

Whistleblower Claims

You may have heard of the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO), which plays a key role in tax collection. Our tax system relies on voluntary compliance, aided by investigations, data analytics and the help of people with firsthand knowledge of non-compliance. Since its inception in 2007, tips received by the WBO have led to collection of […]

Tax Cuts expiring in 2025

Individual provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are set to expire after 2025, as Congress debates whether to make some or all of them permanent. A Tax Policy Center (TPC) analysis found that making the cuts permanent would raise the budget deficit more than $3 trillion over 10 years and would mostly […]

Strategies for investors to cut taxes as year-end approaches

The overall stock market has been down during 2022 but there have been some bright spots. As year-end approaches, consider making some moves to make the best tax use of paper losses and actual losses from your stock market investments. Tax rates on sales Individuals are subject to tax at a rate as high as […]

International Tax Cooperation discussions ongoing at UN

The United Nations Economic and Financial Committee recently approved a resolution to begin international tax discussions that would give developing nations greater input and potentially lead to a new blueprint for cross-border uniformity. The resolution was brought forth by Nigeria on behalf of the UN’s African Group. It mandates the body’s new leadership role in […]

Senate Finance Committee Chair questions crypto safeguards

In the wake of cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s bankruptcy filing, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) is seeking answers on what safeguards are in place to protect retail investors in the event of bankruptcy or theft. Wyden recently sent letters to crypto trading platforms Binance, Bitfinex, Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken and KuCoin. Wyden asked the exchanges […]

Intangible assets: How must the costs incurred be capitalized?

These days, most businesses have some intangible assets. The tax treatment of these assets can be complex. What makes intangibles so complicated? IRS regulations require the capitalization of costs to: Acquire or create an intangible asset, Create or enhance a separate, distinct intangible asset, Create or enhance a “future benefit” identified in IRS guidance as […]

Budget Bill update

Many hurdles remain as the U.S. Congress continues debating the next budget bill. An immediate need is for Congress to pass a rail bill, after President Biden asked congressional leaders to avert a rail strike by passing legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said “the House will consider legislation adopting the tentative (rail) agreement reached […]

IRS warns on holiday scams

The holiday season is in full swing, and so are scams, warns the IRS. Con artists target taxpayers, possibly posing as IRS agents trying to collect bogus tax bills. They often demand payment by gift cards. Scammers may also claim a taxpayer’s identity has been stolen and used for criminal activity. These scams are usually […]